Compost at Home, Care for Your City

Thane is growing fast, and so is the waste we generate every day in our homes. Most of this waste is organic and can be turned into valuable compost instead of being sent to overflowing dumping grounds. Home composting is a simple, low-cost, and effective way for every household to reduce garbage, keep the city cleaner, and enrich plants and soil at the same time. This short guide explains an easy, practical method that any family in Thane can follow to convert kitchen and garden waste into useful compost right at home.

Dig two pits in the ground having dimensions of 2 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft. Please note that you should not increase the depth of the pit because harvesting the compost becomes difficult. Now start putting your kitchen or yard waste inside one of the pits. Do not heap the waste but spread it evenly to form a layer. If kitchen waste is used, then it must be covered with garden or yard waste. Sprinkle some water to keep the material moist.

Keep on putting the waste every day, layer by layer. When the material inside the pit reaches a height of one and a half feet, there will be a steady rise in temperature in the pile, signalling that the composting process has started. Once the pit is full, cover it with mud.

Now you can start using the second pit. The material in the first pit will be ready in a time span of three to four months. The compost will look like dark-black soil, having some parts of half-decomposed organic matter. It can now be safely used for your garden or potted plants.

If you want to be a little more systematic, you can conduct the same process in bins that are constructed above the ground. The construction work is done on an RCC base with ordinary bricks. You can also use any other material to construct the bins. The bins should have a length of three feet and a breadth of two and a half feet. The height should not be more than two and a half feet. At this height, you can comfortably move materials in and out while remaining outside the bin.

The bins have to be covered with netting to prevent the entry of insects, birds, and animals, including rats. A roof cover is also necessary to prevent water from entering the bins during the rains. For this, you can cover the bins with a plastic sheet or construct a tin roof.

The process of making compost from domestic waste is the same: start using the first bin and put the waste in layers. Once in a while, sprinkle some water to keep the material moist. Do not add too much water, or the material will start dripping. It will take around three to four months for the bin to get full if it is used by a single family.

When the first bin is full, start using the second bin. During this time, the first bin will undergo the process of composting. There will be an increase in temperature and a reduction in the size of the materials. The volume inside the bin will reduce and go down by one-third. The colour of the material will start changing, signalling that the composting process is underway successfully.

All types of biodegradable waste can go inside the bins. Keep out all non-biodegradable waste such as glass, metal, plastic, etc. The compost will be ready after three months and will have a dark black colour. If you turn the material inside the bin once every 15 days, then the time taken for composting will be less, and the compost will be ready in one to two months. Once the second bin gets full, the first one will be fully composted. Remove the compost and start using the bin again. You can keep repeating the cycle indefinitely.

The dark, soil-like compost can be directly used for plants. Vermicomposting can also be used to decompose organic waste, which produces high-quality granular compost through the activity of earthworms.

Source: guidelines for citizens for management of municipal solid wastes, Maharashtra pollution control board